Episode 308
Introduction In the aftermath of Shige Shige's death, a shakeup rattles Edo. And it begins with Kondo's and Matsudaira's arrest and the Shinsengumi's disbandment and scattering. Plot Days after his assassination, the entire city of Edo attend his funeral procession. Kagura and Shinpachi watch from an alley and Kagura soon flees, no longer taking the pained expression on her friend Soyo's face. At the same time, in their spaceship, the Tendoushuu mocks Shige Shige for defying their control and for naively thinking that they wouldn't reach him in Kyo; they are also pleased in the way he was ironically killed. Back on Earth near an Edo river, Momochi tells Hattori that the assassin had gotten that close because Shige Shige refused to have Matsudaira and his retainers accompany him due to trusting his friends to the last and the Tendoushuu took advantage of this. She adds that he decided to live and die by his own choices instead of being the Amanto group's puppet, thanks to his friends. Hattori denies being a friend, believing himself as a loser and a sinner after he sacrificed his friends and comrades to save Shige Shige but ultimately failing. Sarutobi quietly overhears their conversation. In another part of Edo, a depressed, injured Gintoki enters the empty building of the Shinsegumi to find the person who called him here, Kondo waiting for him, to drink and chat. Whereas in the Shogunate building, Matsudaira is in a meeting with Nobu Nobu, refusing to pay respect to him as he only serves Shige Shige. Nobu Nobu is amused by the police commissioner's loyalty but the older man deduces that the previous Shogun's assassin, who committed suicide after being caught, was forced to do the deed due to one of his relatives being taken hostage and his belief that Nobu Nobu was behind it. Although he denies it, Matsudaira decides to kill the new Shogun himself, but is stopped by Isaburo, who denies his involvement with the Kiheitai despite Matsudaira's claims. Nobu Nobu reveals that he had placed Isaburo as the new Police Commissioner. Back in the barracks, Kondou admits his disillusionment about war, where everyone, victors and the defeated, lose something but the defeated lose the most and asks the war veteran Gintoki his thoughts on the matter. Gintoki agrees, adding that only the will to change yourself in order to rid the world of the senselessness of war is the only thing worth holding as everyone else will still follow that idea. As the two pour sake into three cups, the third one for Shige Shige, Kondou agrees with Gintoki's words as gives a farewell throw of the sake. He tells Gintoki to tell his subordinates to still protect Edo and in front of Gintoki's horrified eyes, the Shinsengumi chief walks up to the recently arrived Mimawarigumi to be handcuffed. In the Shogunate building, Nobu Nobu tells Matsudaira that for the failure of protecting Shige Shige, both Matsudaira and Kondou are to be arrested and executed and the Shinsengumi disbanded. Gintoki demands to know what is going on but is stopped by Nobume, who is disappointed by the lack of Shinsengumi and is surprised at the silver-haired man's behavior about Kondou. She believes this is because of a combination of the parallel between Gintoki's past and their camaraderie linked by the assassination. She also adds that since Kondou knew that there will be changes due to Nobu Nobu's reign, including his potential arrest, he had sent his subordinates to oversee the funeral so they wouldn't interfere and had specifically called Gintoki here. After the funeral, the Shinsengumi drive back to their building and a Mimawarigumi van go past them that they notice contains Kondou. Shocked and enraged, they find the police group standing in front of the building and attack, with Okita and Hijikata standing by. Everyone freezes when Gintoki walks out of the building to apologize to the two. Later that night, the Shinsengumi members decide to try and save Kondou by any means necessary. But Hijikata tells the men not to; they should listen to Kondou's wishes and continue to live on and protect Edo, even though Okita refuses to follow the corrupted bakufu as well as living on even if their leader is dead. Hijikata tells the men of his conflict between protecting Kondou and protecting his men but tells the men to do what they want since the Shinsengumi no longer exist and leaves under the eyes of both the men and Gintoki. Days later sees the Shinsengumi scattered and/or working under new jobs, which includes Hijikata working in the regular police force as a subordinate to Kozenigata and Okita as a vagabond. Later that day, Kozenigata visits Gintoki to tell what has happened since Kondou's arrest. Nobu Nobu had purged or transferred all the people who followed Shige Shige and replaced them with his own faction which includes Isaburo and his Mimawarigumi, as well as splitting up the disbanded Shinsengumi. A restless Hijikata looks at his barricaded Shinsengumi home and silently cries, Yamazaki looks out over a bridge, Saito trains in a bamboo forest, Tetsunosuke works in an inn and Okita sits at a park bench, staring at the sky. Characters # Tokugawa Shige Shige (cameo and flashback) # Tokugawa Soyo (cameo) # Rotten Maizou (cameo) # Shimura Shinpachi (cameo) # Kagura (cameo) # Momochi Rappa # Hattori Zenzou # Sarutobi Ayame (cameo) # Sakata Gintoki # Yoshida Shouyou (flashback) # Shinsengumi ## Kondou Isao ## Hijikata Toushirou ## Okita Sougo ## Saitou Shimaru ## Yamazaki Sagaru ## Sasaki Tetsunosuke ## Harada Unosuke # Matsudaira Katakuriko # Hitotsubashi Nobu Nobu # Mimawarigumi ## Sasaki Isaburo ## Imai Nobume # Haji # Kozenigata Heiji Trivia Category:Episodes